Indian doctor saves man’s life on Vistara’s Delhi-Doha flight, receives praise

A doctor on Vistara’s Delhi-Doha flight on Tuesday saved the life of a fellow passenger after he fainted and fell to the ground as he attempted to use the lavatory.

Dr Nadeem Jilani rushed to the rescue of the passenger after the cabin crew announced the emergency. The passenger fell unconscious near the lavatory frothing at the mouth.

“An air hostess escorted me to the front section. An unconscious and unresponsive passenger was on the ground, with half of his body still inside the toilet. He was not breathing, there was some froth at the side of his mouth. I promptly started CPR and he become responsive after about 30 seconds with a moan and then opened his eyes,” Dr Jilani told the media.

Dr Jilani then asked the crew to place the passenger’s feet at an elevation to increase blood supply to his brain and heart. The doctor who carries his stethoscope and blood pressure monitor in his handbag said that although his BP was not detectable earlier, it normalized a few minutes later.



After the passenger regained complete consciousness, he was looked after by the cabin crew, who worked as per the doctor’s instructions.

“The passenger soon started talking and identified himself as Santosh from Hyderabad, currently working in Doha. I kept monitoring him and was happy that he could walk by the time the flight landed. It was such a satisfying feeling,” said the doctor.

“The passenger was able to safely disembark upon landing in Doha,” said an air hostess on the flight, Aishwarya.

The doctor received a standing ovation and an upgrade to business class as a gesture of gratitude by the cabin crew. “They asked me to leave first when they started deplaning. A kind of standing ovation was given with flight attendants standing on both sides at the exit gate.”

Dr Jilani who is originally from Darbhanga in Bihar, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FCSR), and a Medical Director Child Advocacy at a prominent hospital in Qatar.